Catios — enclosed outdoor spaces for cats — provide a welfare-positive solution that allows cats to experience the outdoors safely while protecting wildlife and reducing outdoor cat injury risk.
The catio concept elegantly resolves one of companion cat welfare's most contentious debates — whether cats should be indoor or outdoor — by providing a third option that captures the benefits of both. Cats gain access to fresh air, natural sounds, weather variation, and visual stimulation from the outdoor environment without the risks of vehicular trauma, predation, infectious disease, or conflict with other cats. Wildlife protection is an important co-benefit: cats in catios cannot hunt wild birds or small mammals. Catio design should prioritise vertical complexity, comfortable resting spots, vegetation, and direct indoor access. For cats transitioning from free-roaming to catio access, a gradual adjustment period and patience with initial frustration is important.